The ‘meat-free’ foods that are packed with HALF of your daily amount of salt
Vegan options are often seen as a healthier choice on restaurant menus, but a damn report has shown that many are full of more salt than meat dishes.
A study by researchers from Action on Salt, based at Queen Mary University of London and Bart’s Hospital, looked at the content of more than 290 vegetable products in 45 British main street restaurants, fast food and coffee chains.
The largest study of its kind to date has found that 45 percent contained more than half the recommended daily amount of salt from an adult – with the NHS suggesting no more than 6 grams per person per day.
Shockingly, one in five vegetable meals studied delivered all or more of the daily salt limit – including Papa John’s Vegan American Hot Medium Pizza that contained a whopping 9.28 g.
Wasabi’s Pumpkin Katsu Curry Yakisoba turned out to be the worst offender of the analyzed, with 10.3 g of salt – more than eight McDonald’s Hamburgers, containing 1.2 g.
Papa John’s Vegan American Hot Medium Pizza (seen above) contained no less than 9.28 g of salt
| Meal | Salt (in grams) |
|---|---|
| Wasabi’s pumpkin Katsu Curry Yakisoba Wasabi’s Veg Tanmen soup Papa John’s Vegan American Hot Medium (original basis) Papa John’s Vegan Jackfruit Pepperoni Medium (original basis) Papa John’s The Vegan Works Medium (original basis) Papa John’s Vegan American Hot Medium (pumpkin base) Papa John’s Vegan Jackfruit Pepperoni Medium (pumpkin base) Wasabi Sweet Chili Tofu Yakisoba Loch Fyne spiced cauliflower & pumpkin Goan Curry Wasabi’s pumpkin Katsu Curry Bento Bella Italia Vegan cheese pizza Papa John’s Vegan Sausage and Pepperoni Medium (original basis) Chiquito Vegarrito Vegan Fiesta Fajita from Chiquito Slug and Lettuce’s Louisiana Chick’n Vegan Meatless Hamburger Harvester’s The Purist Burger (with triple cooked fries) Chilango This Isn’t Chicken Tinga Wasabi Sweet Chili Tofu Bento Zizzi Jackfruit Italian Hot Rustica Zizzi Vegan Lentils Linguine Ragu Bella Italia Vegan Bolognese Spaghetti Wasabi Tofu Yakisoba Papa John’s Vegan Hot Pepper Passion Medium (pumpkin base) Pizza Express Vegan Giardiniera Zizzi Vegan Beatballs Polpette Papa John’s Vegan Festive Feast Medium (original basis) Papa John’s Vegan Hot Pepper Passion Medium (original basis) Mexican stew Slug and lettuce Moving mountains Vegan Meatless hamburger Papa John’s Vegan Garden Party Medium (pumpkin base) |
10.3 9.7 9.28 9.28 9.04 8.88 8.8 8.7 8.65 8.6 8.1 7.92 7.89 7.65 7.6 7 7 7 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.64 6.5 6 5.92 5.92 5.8 5.8 5.76 |
The Vegan Cheese Pizza from Bella Italia contains 8.1 g of salt – making it salted in 23 bags of Walker’s Ready Salted Crisps.
Although a high salt content can be expected from pizzas, there is a lot lurking in healthier sounding choices such as the Loch Fyne seasoned roasted cauliflower, which has 8.65 g of salt.
And the 3 bean, smoked chili and tomato soup from EAT turned out to be saltier than 14 bags of Walker’s Ready Salted Crisps with 5 g.
MailOnline has contacted EAT, Papa John’s, Slug and Lettuce, Loch Fyne, Chiquito, Zizzi, Pizza Express, Bella Italia and Chilango for comments.
Chiquito’s Vegan Fiesta Fajita contains 7.65 g of salt. Research by Action on Salt researchers at Queen Mary University of London and Bart’s Hospital looked at the salinity in more than 290 alternative meat products in 45 British restaurants
Slug and Lettuce’s Louisiana Chick’n Vegan Meat-less Burger (pictured left) has no less than 7.6 g of salt and even EAT’s 3 beans, smoked chili and tomato soup has 5 g (right), the equivalent of 14 bags of Walker’s Ready Salted Crisps
Harvester, who made the top 30 worst offenders with his The Purist Burger with triple cooked chips, with 7 g of salt, told Mail Online: “We focus on communicating ingredients, the freshness of our food and offering healthier options, so that guests make an informed choice when you eat with us.
“We share complete nutritional information for guests online and are aware of our role in helping them make informed decisions about what they eat and drink when they visit our restaurants.”
Sonia Pombo, Campaign Manager for salt action: ‘Eating a more vegetable-based diet can and should be beneficial for a number of reasons.
‘But whether you want to eat less meat for animal welfare, sustainability or health reasons, it is important to know that a’ vegetable ‘or’ vegan ‘label does not automatically qualify a product as healthy.
Zizzi’s Jackfruit Italian Hot Rustica contains 6.8 g of salt. The study found that 45 percent of the meals from chains and coffee shops surveyed contained more than half the recommended daily amount of salt from an adult
“It’s time for restaurants and cafes to go a step further and make food that is healthy for us and better for the planet.”
Zoe Davies, nutritionist at Action on Salt, added: “Making healthier choices is not always the easy option, but while many of the retailers voluntarily display clear nutrition information on the front of their packaging to help customers find healthier options, food our sector still needs to be so transparent.
“We therefore need to see clear nutritional information that is displayed both online and on menus, making it easier for diners to make genuine, well-informed healthy choices.”
A spokesperson for Wasabi told MailOnline: ‘Wasabi is constantly looking to reduce salinity wherever possible and is currently developing new vegan dishes with less salt in mind. There are also many dishes on the extensive Wasabi menu that offer a balanced meal. ”
Wasabi’s Pumpkin Katsu Curry Bento (photo) contains 8.6 g of salt in one meal – more than the daily limit of 6 g recommended by the NHS
Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and president of Action on Salt, added: “It is shocking that many outside the home sector deliberately seem to ignore the voluntary targets for salt reduction, in what many mistakenly view as healthy food.
‘The government must enforce stricter and more extensive salt reduction objectives and create a fair and level playing field, wherever you choose to eat.
‘Salt is the main cause of high blood pressure, which in turn is the main cause of strokes and heart disease.
“According to the Ministry of Health and Social Care, every gram of gram / day reduction in salt intake of the population saves more than 4,000 premature deaths per year.
“Given this, it is immoral for a food company not to do its part, and the minister must act now.”
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